Is it ever proper to end questions with だ? For instance:
誰だ？
どんな食べ物は好きだ？
I have been told it was correct and incorrect by many parties, but I've always learned to just raise the ending intonation to denote an inquiry.
3 Answers
Interrogative phrases ending in だ (with the exception of dialects) are used to demand information.
As in the following:
- 誰だ！・何者だ！ - "Who!", "Who goes there!"
- どこだ！ - "Where!", "Where is it!"
- いつだ！ - "When!", "When is it!"
- 何だ！ - "What!"
- 何のつもりだ！ - "What are you trying to do!", "What's your intention!"
- おい！そこでなにしてるんだ！ - "Hey! What are you doing over there!"
- 誰に向かって物言ってるんだ！ - "Who do you think you're talking to!"
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I somewhat understand you, but almost every question phrase "demands information", doesn't it? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Question Oct 21, 2016 at 14:51
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In a way I think it's a difference between a demand and a request. Like the difference between お名前はなんですか (I'm requesting you to provide your name) and 名前は何だ (I'm demanding that you tell me your name). Oct 24, 2016 at 1:59
か is the usual way to ask a question, but it is quite acceptable to drop the か if you use a proper "questioning" intonation. You could just say "好き?" if you used the proper intonation.
... 誰だ？ -- could be a regular question.
... 誰だ？ -- could be a [rhetorical question]. See Is a sentence ending with 誰だ but without か a question?
どんな食べ物が好きだ？ -- is typical of an adult speaking to a child.
Kind-of like (in English) : [Do you like this cake?] --vs.-- [You like this cake?]
[Is this good?] --vs.-- [This is good?]
どんな食べ物は好きだ？-> You'd use が, not は. どんな食べ物が好きだ？Cf: 「何がありますか？」(not 何は~~) 「誰が来たの？」(not 誰は~~)